beneficial mutations?

Question

Please give me examples of benefitial mutations? I have heard ones about the malaria, the exercizing athlete, the adaptations to environments. Aren't adaptations a little different from mutations. Adaptation uses the genes one already has and scrambles them to get the optimum survival. Please help me out in understanding this. Mutation should create some new stuff. Why do scientists use adaptation and mutation interchangably?

Answer 1

Scientist may think that any offspring that's 'different' from the parent is called a mutation.

If after 1 generation, - 1/2 of the critters don't reproduce, then I guess the species is 'adapting'.

But in the end, - I've never seen a mutation of a worm have legs.

I guess a mutation would be something like Down's syndrome. But I haven't seen them at Goddard space flight center.

Answer 2

Scientists don't use adaptation and mutation interchangeably.

Mutation is something that happens to an individual. But adaptation happens to the *population*.

A mutation is a new combination in the DNA of an individual. It occurs by some copying error during replication. If this happens in a normal cell, it can cause cancer, but not much else. But if it happens in a gamete, it can get passed onto the offspring as a brand new sequence in the DNA that has never been seen before.

Adaptation can either start with the genetic material the species already has, or with new material generated by mutation in an individual. Either way, adaptation is the slow accumulation of beneficial genes based on pressures from the environment. That is the type of adaptation called evolution. (Other types of non-evolution adaptation are adaptations of an individual to its environment that are not passed on to offspring.)

Note that the fact that a mutation is beneficial to the individual is no guarantee that it will propagate into the population and produce adaptation. If the individual does not actually reproduce, or dies for reasons unrelated to the mutation, then the mutation dies with that individual and does not contribute to adaptation of the species.

So for an example of a beneficial mutation, consider the fact that we need a new flu shot every year. In the course of the year, all those flu viruses previously targeted by last year's flu shot, have developed resistance to it. This resistance is certainly beneficial *to the virus*. And since viruses don't reproduce sexually, we know this isn't some new hybrid combination of genes from a lucky mating ... this change in the virus's DNA that gave it resistance *must* have come about through a mutation in an individual virus somewhere.

However, the fact that it propagated into the virus population is also *adaptation* of that virus strain (the virus as a group, rather than the individual that benefited from that mutation).

So you can have mutation without adaptation (a mutation that is not beneficial, or one that is beneficial but doesn't propagate). And you can have adaptation without mutation (adaptation using the variation of the existing genes in the gene pool). But if you have *both* then you notice it as a "beneficial mutation."

I hope that helps.

Answer 3

It is always thought that mutations are what causes adaptations. Yes, it is true in some cases where there is a random, but beneficial mutation that happens every now and then that enables individuals to adapt faster in an environment, thereby increasing survival and reproductive success. Of course, this mutation gets passed on to their offspring and these will pass them on to theirs, and so forth. Adaptation, however, could happen even without mutation. The environment naturally selects those better fitted to the environment than those who are not. These genetic variations between individuals can come from meiosis, which can reshuffle genes, therefore traits, in a population. The best mixes of genes can naturally be selected. Adaptation may come about from having a current gene pool and reshuffling of these genes to have good mixes in individuals, thus benefitting them and giving them a higher chance of survival and reproduction.

Answer 4

I'm guessing the mutation your thinking of for malaria is not actually a mutation at all, but involves the Sickle-Cell Annemia in Africans. Sickle-Cell Annemia is the condition when red blood cells are created in a dissorted matter by the bone marrow and can cause problems such as clogging in vessels. In order to be born with the disease you need homozygous recessive alleles for the disease (ss). People who are heterozygous for this disease (Ss) have been shown that they can not contract malaria; which when your living in a fly infested environment can be extremely beneficial.

As to beneficial mutations, although I can not think of any specifics off hand, every so often a rare mutation will occur in a species that will benefit the species and will typically be passed down to the next generation, these sort of mutations are a driving force in evolution.

Answer 5

Mutations can be gain of function mutations or loss of function mutations. As matter of fact, most mutation happens to be loss of function mutations, which means the function of certain gene is partially compromised or totally lost. Adaptation is a different concept than mutation. Mutations deal with the change of DNA, and the resultant changes of protein function or the chromosome function. Adaptations deal with the change of the trait in individuals or in most cases, in the population. Mutations might or might not induce adaptation. Adaptations might or might not be caused by mutations. Thus, they are not interchangably.

There are numerous examples of beneficial mutations. Actually, the process of adaptation accompanies with all kinds of beneficial mutations. Here is an example:
Human can taste sweet flavor from starchy food, while lower organisms, even other primates, can not. This is because of a retrotransposon caused insertional mutation of amylase gene happened in human's salivary gland during evolution. This is beneficial since the sweety taste of starchy food allows human uptake more sugar sources other than fruit (starch is a form of sugar), and thus more nutritions.

Answer 6

Scientists use adaptation and mutation interchangably to describe the process of evolution, whereby which species continue living in their changing surroudings because they have aquired genes that help them adapt to their environment.

You learn to adapt to hot weather when you move from Alaska to Hawai by drinking more water and wearing lighter clothes.

You genetically adapt if there is a mutation in your genes that somehow allows your body temperature to lower if you are in a hotter environment for example. (this is just a fabrication)

some beneficial mutations include:

Camels have long lashes to protect their eyes from dust and sand in the desert.

People who live in sunny climates have more melatonin in their skin and more resistance to the sun's rays than people who are originally from cold/sunless climates.

For example, Middle easterns, south americans, africans and those who are originally from these areas ten to have olive-dark skin. This helps them cope with the sun
Europeans, and those of nordic descent have fair skin that burns easily, this is because they never needed to develop resistance to the suns rays since they lived in cold climates and were sheilded by trees in the dense forests.

Darwin's theory of evolution explains this phenomenon of gene mutation by calling it the survival of the fittest:

Lets say we all descended from the same 2 ancestors: Adam and Eve..

Their offspring's offspring's offspring spread out and moved to different areas of the globe, where the climates are very different.

One day in the warm climate area, a baby is born with a gene different from his parents: he has more melatonin (pigment that protects from the sun and allows us to tan rather than burn).. It is more likely that this baby will survive than any of his friends that have the genes that dictate very little melatonin, thus he is the "FITTEST" and he will survive and his offspring will inherit this mutated gene and they will continue to have higher rates of survival then the other members of their tribe that have the original gene which made them more vunerable to the sun.

This process takes many generations. It doesn't happen in a century.. possibly CENTURIES.. read more on Darwin's theory of evolution for more info :)

Hope that helped

Answer 7

Beneficial mutations are the mutations that occur that enable a species to maintain fitness. But there are none so what you really get is genetic variation and recombination that actually does work.
Adaptation is a mystical intelligence that is inherent in every species except humans. The flower mystically tells itself to change to a color that attracts the bees and boom it works. It telepathically tells its DNA to recombine to be something that will increase its survival rate above the competition.
It doesn't work in humans or we wouldn't need boob jobs or penile implants.

Answer 8

It's true that adaptation is occured when the enviroment provided is changed.However,the gene will mutate to ensure that the adaptation is passed from one generation to another.

Example,when a patient is infected by certain disease and his body managed to produce antibody against the foreign pathogen,the information may code for that particular pathogen and is coded inside the gene.
the next generation of that patient may also resist toward that pathogen because of the inherited gene from their parent(s).

Answer 9

adaptation is a behavior change in an animal or family of animals, like bears going for trash cans.

mutations that are benficial would be like a bear that had longer hamstrings that enable it to run down elk calves at a rate that exceeds the norm. and therefore propagates his genes by being successful in hunting.

finches in the galopagos island chain developing different beaks that enable several specie to coexist and not feed on that same limited food sources, etc...

Answer 10

mutation is any change in the DNA sequence. Adaptation is used to describe changes that are beneficial for the organism.